a. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to catheters for use in medical procedures. In particular, the instant invention relates to an electrophysiology catheter for use in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures at or near an annular region of a patient's anatomy, such as the ostium of a pulmonary vein.
b. Background Art
Catheters are used for an ever-growing number of procedures. For example, catheters are used for diagnostic, therapeutic, and ablative procedures, to name just a few examples. Typically, the catheter is manipulated through the patient's vasculature and to the intended site, for example a site within the patient's heart.
A typical electrophysiology catheter includes an elongate shaft and one or more electrodes on the distal end of the shaft. The electrodes may be used for ablation, diagnosis, or the like. Oftentimes, these electrodes are ring electrodes that extend about the entire circumference of the catheter shaft.
One specific use of an electrophysiology catheter is to map the atrial regions of the heart, and in particular the pulmonary veins, which are often origination points or foci of atrial fibrillation. Such electrophysiology mapping catheters typically have at least a partial loop shape at their distal end in order to surround the pulmonary vein ostia. Because of varying patient anatomies, however, it may be challenging to properly place the looped section of the catheter precisely in the pulmonary vein ostia.